Chief Insp. Ariel Huesca, chief of Firearms, Explosives, Security Agencies and Guards Section (FESAGS) in the region, yesterday disclosed that the PNP’s“Oplan Katok” has been very successful so far as a good number of loose firearms have been confiscated compared toprevious years.

In an interview, Huesca said that Oplan Katok” contributed a lot in the identification of gun owners who have not renewed their firearms license.Mosst of them were charged and their guns confiscated for failure to comply with the legal requirement.

He explained the oplan’s proceidure in which FESAGS sends notices to gun owners if they learned that the latter failed to renew their licenses. The said gunowners are given 15 days to comply with the requirement..

Another 15-day period is given to the gunowners for their failure of compliance and after 30 days having received no positive response, lawmen would apply for a search warrant from the court before a raid is carried out on the residences of the erring gun owners.

Huesca said the erring gun owners are arrested and charged for illegal possession of firearms, while their guns are seized.

Based on police records, several raids were carried out by lawmen due to failure of renewal of firearms license by gun owners.